I totally agree that the next decade will be very interesting. And I think you're correct that there is great potential for a useful device. But does that make it the kind of device consumers find necessary? Useful and necessary are two different things. The potential medical applications are great. That said, I find the potential to track and analyze personal biometric data to be almost a bit narcissistic - unless there's a legitimate medical reason. I don't know, I...

I don't get smart watches. Seems like a total niche market. I have zero interest. I really hope Apple doesn't fall on its face with the iWatch. I think an Apple TV with gaming and an App Store is where they should focus right now. It has far greater appeal.

I don't disagree. I was merely offering a potential reason for the deal in response to someone else's question. Iovine and Dre might have needed some incentive as well. Paying $X/year might not have been appealing. A $3.2 billion acquisition, PLUS, $X/year...that's better! :)

Working directly with talent. Bringing in two industry luminaries to handle artist relations and essentially build a label. Why pay royalties to labels if you can work directly with the artists instead?

The only company I'd support Apple buying is Nintendo. I say that as both an Apple customer and shareholder. Bringing the Nintendo brand and characters to Apple would be a smart move and would totally re-energize the Nintendo platform. Apple TV becomes the next generation Wii with an App Store and game rentals. All games go exclusive for iOS devices.
Nest for 3.2B seems insane. The question is, could Apple spend 3.2 billion to build Nest? For sure. That money is...

Agreed. To a point. But there's nothing "Universal" about USB. That's the point. It's a mess of different cables with different connectors. I could deal with a few, a larger desktop device connector and a mini connector, for example. I do a lot of backpacking and carry a Powerfilm solar panel with a USB car charger to charge my Steripen (water purifier), headlamp, portable speaker, and iPhone. Wouldn't it be nice if I could carry one standard cable? My portable...

He's right. I hate USB. How many different connectors does one "standard" need? How many cables should one have to carry to connect his or her devices. USB was a great idea. Too bad it's been so poorly implemented and managed.

No, but neither was developing the same OS for multiple hardware architectures, as NeXT did. Nor was switching Mac users from Classic to OS X and PowerPC to Intel. Apple has managed a number of very complex hardware transitions rather smoothly. If they really wanted to switch from ARM to Intel, they could. But why would they? There's no incentive.

And you'll continue to be a good little sheep while unaccountable government agencies sift through every trace of electronic communications in an effort to thwart the terrorist boogeyman they created. As long as you feel "safe", who cares if the government is acting like the USSR, not the USA.